Vintage Fabrics: Identification and Value Guide

Vintage Fabrics:
Identification and Value Guide

A Book Review

by Patricia Cummings

Vintage Fabrics: Identification and Value Guide is a colorful and informative book prepared by Judith Scoggin Gridley, Joan Reed Kiplinger, and Jessie Gridley McClure. The book is loaded with print ad illustrations, and examples of old quilts and swatches, some of which were provided by an army of textile-fanatic friends and acquaintances. Photos of quilts and other items make the book come to life, along with the descriptions written by Joan Kiplinger, a knowledgeable fabric specialist who has written many columns for www.fabrics.net, for years now. A nice feature of the book are the close-up photos that afford a good view of various weaves, accompanied by clear explanations of them.

Not sure what Ratiné is? How about Satine? As you turn page after page, you will be thrilled with the new knowledge you are acquiring about vintage fabrics. The book is also a retrospective look at home decorating fabrics, and includes ads that show the manner in which women dressed in years gone by. The trip down nostalgia-lane is a fun one, in the hands of the three women who collaborated to make this book, this dream, a reality.

Advice to heed in shopping for specific fabrics is provided for prospective buyers. The importance of thread count is discussed, and information about fabric identifications by fiber, weave, and appearance, is also featured. The book includes an amazing chart that lists types of fabric by width, and the years it was produced. Another chart lists common brand names of fabrics and finishes and the mills who produced the cloth.

A wealth of information is packed into this volume. We have only touched on a few of the book's features. This volume is a must-have for all of the following people: serious students of textiles, antiques dealers, and collectors of vintage fabrics and their associated items. In fact, anyone who enjoys seeing examples of vintage textiles, or various swatches with print designs or woven cloth, will love perusing the pages of this book. Quilter's Muse gives a "two thumbs-up" rating for Vintage Fabrics. We eagerly await the next volume from this threesome (and that, we understand, is already in the works!)